Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Lawsuit filed against Gov. Schwarzenegger over promised school funds

Now, the argument will head to court. O'Connell and the CTA say their new lawsuit follows the same path as the 1993-1994 legal battle over Prop 98 with then Governor Pete Wilson, a case that challenged the ability to tinker with the initiative's guarantees about the minimum levels of school funding. That case ended in a settlement that sent hundreds of millions of dollars more to the schools.

The lawsuit is filed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Kevin O'Connell, the CTA, and California parents.

Governor Schwarzenegger's broken promise to the schools violates the state constitution.

The petition filed in Sacramento Superior Court states that schools have been funded for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 fiscal years at a combined level of $3.1 billion below what is required by state law, Chapter 213 of the Statues of 2004. It charges Governor Schwarzenegger and Director of Finance Tom Campbell with ignoring the state constitution and Chapter 213 and improperly calculating the funding due K-14 education for fiscal years 2004-05 and 2005-06. It asks the court to order that those amounts be recalculated as required by law.

"The complaint filed today is meant to force the governor to honor his word, the will of the people, and to ensure California students get no less than the minimum school funding guaranteed under our constitution," said CTA Vice President David A. Sanchez. "The governor hasn't just broken a promise, he's broken the law."

The loss of liberty in general would soon follow the supression (sic) of the liberty of the press; for it is an essential branch of liberty, so perhaps it is preservative of the whole. John Peter Zenger (1697-1746)

"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation". John F. Kennedy